Last, Best Hope of Gamindustri
by ClassifiedMc
Summary: When Gamindustri is threatened with a takeover by ASIC, and the CPUs ending up missing, Histoire decides to use her trump card; a gamer from Earth. Chris blindly agrees to the plea and finds himself in a fight for not only his life, but for the entirety of Gamindustri. Will he succeed, or die in the process. Rated T for violence, blood (but not a gorefest), and language.
1. New World, New Hope

The man jumped back, avoiding the high tech sledgehammer. He swung his flaming blade at the large monster three times before getting stunned by the large weapon.

"Dammit, time to use it," he said, switching weapons to his stronger Shocksword and swinging it. The monster was stunned for a second, but it was enough time for the man to sheathe his blade and equip his Scoped .44 Magnum. "VATS!" he says, stopping time, and allowing him to choose which body part he wanted to shoot. He selected the head and pulled the trigger 4 times, then activated it. Four magnum rounds then left the revolver, slamming into the head of the enemy, killing it. He breathed in and out, before stopping, saving and pausing the game.

"Well, that was fun," he said, before looking at the screen. His Fallout 3 character stood there, with the game paused.

He looked at himself in the mirror to the left of the TV. His dark brown hair was a mess, loose and unstraightened. He felt tired, but was not on the verge of passing out. He stretched a bit before heading downstairs, being as quiet as possible. Once he reached the first floor, he headed to the fridge, getting a bottle of water. He started drinking as he looked around for the time. It read 1:45 Am.

'Jesus, that game just sucks you right in and doesn't let go. Well, that's Bethesda games for ya, it's par for the course,' he thought, before grabbing another water bottle and heading upstairs, back to his room. When he got there, he noticed something off. He didn't know what it was, but he felt it in the air so to say. He looked around and grabbed his phone, and looking at it. The phone showed the time, and the date, but it was glitching a bit. 'What in the hell?' he thought before taking the phone out of the case and holding his hand. He recoiled as it burned at the touch. It fell onto his bed. He had a knacking feeling to look at the TV, so he did. He stepped back, surprised by what he saw. The TV screen was slightly filled with static.

"What the hell!?" he said, forgetting the fact that he should be quiet.

"Hel-o, -an yo- -ear m-?" a female voice asked, asking through the static.

"Who is this?" the male asked, looking around.

"Oh good you can hear me. Listen, are you Chris?" the voice questioned, the static clearing up.

"How do you know my name? Who are you?" the now named Chris asked again.

"Oh, my apologies. I am Histoire. I need your help" the voice told Chris.

"Histoire? Wait, why do you need my help?" he asked.

"We are in grave danger and you are the only one that can help us. Please, I will tell you more if you accept." Histoire explained.

"Wait, who's 'we' and 'us'?" Chris asked, looking slightly puzzled.

"I will tell you once you accept, do you?" the disembodied voice asked. He thought about it for a while. "Please."

"Sigh, what do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Thank you! Now, all you need to do is place your hand on your gaming console. I will take care of the rest." The said, a hint of hope in her voice.

"Like this?" he said, putting his hand on his Xbox, Fallout 3 still playing.

"Good, now this might hurt," Histoire told him.

"Wait, what might hur-?" He asked before being cut off by electricity zapping him. "Ow! Dammit that hurts!" He gritted through his teeth. He looked down at himself.

The normal view of electricity, whether it would be a yellow, or a lightning white or whatever, wasn't there. In place of it was a purplish bolts. The burn then became a sharp pain in his head. He held his hand with his free hand, while his other was seemingly glued to the Xbox.

"Yes, it's working! Look, I know it hurts, but you need to remain calm. You might want to fall asleep, or have the feeling of passing out. Let it happen and you should be here. Please, when you g-t h-e, he-d f-e Pl-pt-e. Oh n-, w-e bre-ng u-!" Histoire told the dazed Chris as static filled in the gaps. "P-se hur-!" Her voice was cut off.

"Hello? Histoire?!" He asked, looking around. His environment seemed to be changing, but he couldn't tell if it was real, or from the shocking. His eyes felt heavy, as his grip on consensus was fading. He passed out.

* * *

'I feel like crap,' this was the first thought that came to the mind of a young male as he awoke from his slumber. He rubbed his eyes then looked around him. He looked to be in some sort of forest. Luckily, he seemed to have awoke in a clearing, so that was good. He stood up, before rubbing his head. 'What am I doing here?' That seemed to be the million dollar question. Then it hit him. Histoire. The shocking. Passing out. 'Oh yeah, that,' he thought as he remembered what happened. 'Where am I? I mean I know I'm in a forest, or at least the woods. Oh well, I guess I can look around and see if Histoire left me anything,' he thought as he looked around. He finally looked down, then took a double take.

His attire had changed. He had a long brown leather overcoat with rolled up sleeves. Under that was a dark grey shirt. He had on long grey pants, with motorcycle boots covering his feet. He recognized the clothes after a few seconds. The Regulator Duster from Fallout. He then glanced to to his left forearm. On it sat a large computer-like object with a screen and several buttons and knobs. He know the design all too well. The Pip-Boy 3000. Past that was the weirdest thing. Three cases for what appeared to be swords lied on his hip, with three handles sticking out. He drew the first. It was similar to a normal blade, but was chilling to some degree. He also noticed a small fog appearing around the blade, almost as if it was dipped in liquid nitrogen. He sheathed it and drew the second. It was like the first, but it had mysteriously writing along the side of the blade, with a yellowish energy running along it. He went to touch it before recoiling. It shocked him, just like the electricity that brought him here. He put it away before drawing the final sword. It was unique, as the blade was a hot red. The sword also felt like it was forged 3 seconds ago. He noticed that the heat didn't make his hand hot, it just warmed it up a bit. He sheathed it and sat with his back to a tree.

'Where in the heck am I? I guess that's priority one. Hmm, maybe she left me a note. But why didn't I see it? I guess it's on my Pip-Boy. Wait, how do I turn it on?' he thought as he examined the wrist computer. The screen lit up before he touched it and showed Vault Boy, a smile on his face with limbs and health full. He pressed the Data button without looking at anything else. It first showed a Local Map, nothing noteworthy. He moved to the Region Map, which replaced the World Map. 'I guess it's a bit more realistic,' he thought before moving to Quests. One quest was up, 'Waking up' was it's name. The current goal was 'Find what Histoire left you.' He then turned to Notes. There was one. He read it in silence.

It read the following: Dear _Chris, by the time you read this, you will have woken up. I am glad you're safe. Listen, I know you wanted answers when you arrived but I do not have enough time to explain it to you. You need to head to Planeptune, but you might want to head to an inn before nightfall. I will mark it on your map for you, along with the Planeptune Basilicom. That is where I am and where I will brief you. Please head there as soon as possible, but do not kill yourself in the process. The area you are in is a dangerous place, and it will get even more deadly as you continue. As you might have noticed, you have some weapons on you. They will grow in strength the more you use them. One more note, this world is like a video game. You will earn experience points, level up, etc. Your experience as a gamer might save your life. When you arrive at the village, a room will be waiting for you. Just show them your device on your arm and they will escort you there. -Histoire_

 _Ps: To use Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, aka VATS, just say the acronym and it will activate it for you._

The corner of the screen on his Pip-Boy said that a new map marker has been added, along with a quest update. He turned it to Quests, and read the update. 'Head to the village before nightfall.' He looked at the top and saw the time was 6:25 Pm.

"Okay, at least I know what to do. Time to head out!" He got up and turned it to Region Map. The village appeared to be one mile away. He looked that way and started heading there.

* * *

It was 8:00 Pm, and he saw it. He sighed in relief. He made it. He would've made it sooner, but he ran into monsters called a Dogoo. He was confused too. Nevertheless, he made it, and leveled up to 7 (He was originally level 5). His weapons had also 'ranked up' from 1 to 3. On top of that, he found out that he could dual wield swords, which could come in handy soon. He walked into the inn, and headed for the main desk.

"Hello, how can I help you?" The woman asked.

"Yeah, I was told to show you this," Chris said, showing her the Pip-Boy.

"Oh, yes. The oracle Histoire has already paid for your room, and a hot meal will be sent there in a little bit. Do you need anything else?" She asked politely.

"No thank you, I'm good. Thanks though," He told her before heading into the room.

The room was primarily purple, with a large plasma TV facing the pair of beds. Chris could see a fairly large bathroom close to the beds.

"If you need anything, just let us know," she said before leaving the room.

He looked to the bathroom and then to his Pip-Boy. He went to apparel. There, was a change of clothes. He went to the bathroom and showered up. After a nice hot shower, and a change of clothes, Chris exited the bathroom and noticed a plate of food on the bed, with a cup of water. He ate the food, which was really good he must say, finished his drink, and went to bed.

After waking up and switching into his Duster, he left the inn, saying goodbye to the woman at the desk.

"Goodbye, have a safe journey," she said as he waved bye and walked outside.

He looked at his Pip-Boy, and saw that Planeptune was about 2.5 miles. He should be able to make it by midday. He started making his way, looking down at his mini computer. He heard quick footsteps, but paid it no mind. It was when it was nearly on top of him did he look up. He could almost sense the classic qte prompt of 'press X' appear. He quickly sidestepped, avoiding the woman who ran past. She seemed to be in a hurry, because he couldn't make out anything precise about her. He could, however, see a long blue coat, and long brown hair. That was it.

'I guess I shouldn't ponder on it, I should be in a hurry too. The sooner I get there, the sooner I might get some answers,' he thought before heading towards Planeptune. After about five minutes of walking, he got bored of the ambiance, so he looked into the Data section. The final tab was Music. After looking through the music, he decided on a song called 115 and played it. The music started up. He started walking faster, until he ran into a pack of Dogoos. Five to be precise.

He drew his first sword, which is called the Cryoblade, and charged at the first. It pounced at him but he slid under the gooey monster. He slashed at it's back before slashing with three more strikes. It disappeared into 0s and 1s. He jumped back, to avoid another pounce from the second. He performed a jump slash, putting it into red health. He switched to his next blade, the Shocksword, before slashing it and two others with lightning fast strikes, chaining them together. The second fell and the third and fourth were knocked into yellow health. He sheathed the second and went to use the final, the Shishkebab. He performed a spin attack, burning the grass. The two at yellow were sent to red, with the fifth was put into yellow, each of them earning the 'burn' status ailment. Chris faced the fifth one and blocked an attack before kicking it away and striking it, turning it into code. He looked to the last two, who had succumbed to the burn and fell.

He performed his victory pose, which was him slashing his weapon twice and laying it on his shoulder, while saying 'Don't mess with the Lone Wanderer'. One would think that this would burn/freeze/shock (Depending on the weapon) the Duster, but it doesn't. He continued on.

* * *

It took him a little over 3 hours, but he finally reached the city. It was futuristic, with a similar color pallet to the inn room, purple and white. Tall buildings loomed over him as he walked down the street.

He brought his Pip-Boy closer and checked his Stats. His health was full, as to expect from a newly made level 10. He then looked at his Items. His Cryoblade was at rank 6, and he learned a new skill called Ice Raid. His Shocksword was rank 7, and halfway to 8, and he earned the skill Thunder Blitz. Finally, his Shishkabob was 5 ½ in terms of rank and, like the other blades, he earned a skill called Ember Blade. His armor had also ranked up, and it raised its overall defence. He then switched to Data. He decided to go from using the Regional map to Local map. He saw the Basilicom was in the center of the city and, when he looked up, saw it was the tallest.

"Let's go," he said before starting the small journey there.

It took Chris 15 minutes for him to get there. He walked in through the front doors, looking around. Now, keep in mind the fact that Chris has seen some weird crap. Being transported to another place that clearly wasn't Earth, glob monsters with the face and tail of a dog called Dogoos, etc. This, however, trumped them all.

A fairy-like figure, with wings, sitting on a book, that was floating.

"Hello, I am Histoire," the figure said to him, "and thank you for your help, Chris."

'... What the hell did I just get myself into?' He thought to himself.

"Listen Histoire, umm, I have one tiny question I was hoping you could answer," he said, "Why do you need my help?"

"That might take some time to explain, would you like the long or short answer?" She had said, giving him time to think it over. "Well, whatever you pick, I must make a call. Then please tell me your answer." She had said, leaving the room.

Chris sat down on a nearby chair, cupping his chin. His ear twitched, as he could hear bits and pieces of Histoire's conversation. Bits like 'he is here' 'come as soon as you can' and 'let her know before coming here' really got his brain thinking. Nevertheless, she had hung up and reentered the room.

"Have you thought of your answer?" She had asked, a small smile on her face.

"Let's go with the quick explanation, I can figure out the fine print later," he said, before Histoire started the story.

* * *

"Okay, I think I got it," he said, after some, relatively, quick exposition, "Let me review it just to make sure."

"Okay."

"So, let me get this straight, this new organization popped up, started gaining power. The leaders of each of the four nations, who are goddesses called CPUs, and who are the 4 strongest warriors you have, plus one went to go meet this group's leader, and never came back. This group become more powerful, by collecting 'share' energy. And the way I fit in, is that you want me, a 15-year old gamer out of Nowhere, South Carolina, who has little to no combat experience, to sneak into the enemy base, rescue them, get the hell out of Dodge, and after a while to take them down. Is that it? Did I miss anything?" He asked, simplifying it.

"Yes, that is all," Histoire responded.

"Okay, wait. You said I need to sneak into the enemy base, right? What if, and I'm just thinking of a scenario, one of them finds me? And, even if I make it there, they will most likely have their best guard watching them, which might be the one who took them down. There's no way I can take them down unless a freakin' Deus Ex Machina comes out of thin air and beats the everliving crap out of 'em. I'm sorry but unless I have help, or a giant death laser of awesomeness(Or the BFG 9000, take your pick), it's impossible for me to save them," Chris said to her before taking a seat.

"Well, you are not going in alone. I have called some friends of the CPUs to provide assistance. In fact, you are going to be helping them," Histoire told him.

"Okay, where are the-" he tried to say before getting cut off by someone entering the Basilicom.

"Histy, we're here!" One peppy female voice said.

"We came here as fast as we can. We can finally save them," another, more serious, female voice said as the two came into the room. He craned his neck to see them without getting up.

The peppy one had pinkish hair, with matching eyes. She wore a lighter pink sweater and a skirt. The other one had on a blue overcoat with a black outfit. She had long brown hair, green eyes and a matching hairpiece.

'Long brown hair and a blue overcoat, why does that sound fami-' he thought before it hit him. 'She's the one that nearly bulldozed me! Why was she all the way out there? Best I don't bring it up though.'

"So where is he? I swear he better have been worth the wait," the brunette said, not seeing Chris.

"Right over there," Histoire said, pointing in his direction. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as they both looked at him. He kept quiet. He was never good with talking to women.

"Okay, enough games Histoire, where is he really? The blue coated girl asked.

"I am not playing games IF, this is who I asked. He accepted and here we are," the small fairy responded.

"Really, why him? He looks like he couldn't handle a low level Ancient Dragon," IF said, looking at the hero.

'I am literally, two feet away from you,' he thought. 'Wait, there's dragons! Where!? I need to find out for… research purposes. Totally not going to try to take one down.'

"IF, he may not look powerful, but he has potential. That's why I chose him."

"We don't need someone with a hidden potential, we need an immediate power. Wait, don't tell us he's a mute," IF said, sighing.

"No," Chris finally said, building enough courage to speak. He stood up, "Since we'll be working together I guess I should introduce myself," he walked to the pair, "I'm Chris."

"I'm Compa, a nurse in training! Nice to meet you Mr. Chris!" The pink haired girl said, shaking his hand.

"Please, just Chris. No need for formalities," he responded.

'If this is like an RPG, then she would be the healer. What would IF be then?' He thought before turning his attention to the aforementioned.

"Come on Iffy, don't be rude," Compa told the brunette.

"Sigh, fine," she took Chris' hand, "I'm IF, and make sure you can carry your own weight."

He shook it firmly, "I've been doing it so far haven't I?" He said, a small smug appearing on his face.

"Alright, now that that's over, we can get down to business. Do you have the sharisite?" Histoire asked.

Chris looked at her confused. 'Sharisite? What is that?' He thought before checking his Pip-Boy closer to his face, checking his items slot. 'No, not there. She probably was referring...' he stopped talking to himself mentally and listened to the ongoing conversation.

"Here it is," Compa said, pulling it out of her purse, along with 20 other items. How she holds them is another mystery for another day. It was a small crystal, with a dim glow radiating from it.

"Good,"

"Hey, don't mind me asking but, what's that for?" Chris asked Compa and Histoire.

"A sharisite is a crystallized form of share energy. It's what we will use to try to save them," Histoire explained to the uninformed teen.

"Yeah, Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge and the rest will finally come back!"

"Nep-Nep? Ge-Ge?" He asked.

"They're nicknames for Neptune and Nepgear respectively," Histoire, once again, answered. Chris nodded, finally getting a translucent picture.

"Alright, so we're ready to go?" IF asked, getting impatient.

"Hey, I know this might seem selfish, but can I head to a shop or somewhere? We might need some items." Chris said.

"No, we don't have the time," IF said without the others' consent and started walking over to a circular platform. "Besides, we don't need you slowing us down. All you'll be doing is wasting our time."

Chris was about to begin yelling, but stopped. 'Calm down, calm down.' He thought for a few seconds before talking back.

"How about a deal?" He said, making IF turn around.

"Absolutely no-" IF started.

"Wait, at the very least hear my proposition," Chris said, cutting her off. He continued, "It won't take me that long to head there and back, 20 minutes tops. How about this, I will head there and back. If I'm not back in 20 minutes, then you two can go on ahead of me. I won't hold it against you. So, do we have a deal?" He asked, after laying all the details on the table. He held out his hand, waiting for her to shake it. She stood there, almost as if she was considering the options.

"20 minutes?" She asked. He nodded. "And if you aren't back, we can leave you?"

"Won't hold it against you. Oh yeah, don't even think about cheating. Just to let you know, this," He pointed to the wrist computer, "also tells time. So I'll know if you try to cheat."

"Sigh, alright," She shook his hand.

"Good, we agreed on it. Start the time as soon as I walk out those doors." He was two steps from the door before he stopped.

"What are you waiting on?" IF asked.

"Umm one quick question. Where is the shopping area?" He asked, looking at the two. IF facepalmed.

* * *

After receiving directions and following them, Chris made it to the shopping area. He looked and saw he had 15 minutes left.

'It's a five minute trip, 4 if I run, 3 minutes 30 seconds if I sprint.' He thought before looking at all the shops. 'I don't need swords, or any melee weapons. I should go for ranged weapons, like a shotgun or a sniper.' He saw a gun shop and entered it.

There were guns EVERYWHERE! They lined 2 walls and each were different from the last. Assault rifles, SMGs, LMGs, Snipers, Shotguns, Magnums, etc. There was also a counter that had handguns, melee weapons, and explosives. The shop owner was a large man, with an even larger mustache. He had on a leather vest, with shades covering his face.

"Welcome to McCarthy's Guns! I'm Jackson McCarthy, what can I do for you today?" His voice was booming, with a strong southern biker accent.

"I was wondering what guns you had for a low price." Chris said, scanning the guns on the walls.

"Hah! If you want cheap guns, then you won't find any there." Jackson informed Chris, who stopped scanning the shelves and was looking at one gun in particular. Jackson faced the same gun that his eyes were transfixed on. The gun was a Magnum, that was about the size of a Desert Eagle.

Chris pointed at it. "How much?" He said.

"That beauty? Hah! You won't be able to handle it, even if you had the money." He laughed.

"Okay, how about this. A shoot-off. Whoever can handle the gun better and fire it better will win the gun. You in?" He asked. Johnson took no time before shaking his hand.

"Alright, I like your smirk. Go to the shooting range right there." He pointed before grabbing the gun and some ammo. The shooting range was like any other. Targets were already up and waiting for the shooter. Jackson stepped next to Chris. "Alright, I'll go first, then you try to beat me, which you won't." He pointed the gun at the target and fired the first shot. Chris' ears rang as the first bullet left the revolver. He saw that Jackson's flinched as well, causing him to miss the target completely. "I, uhh, I forgot how much kick this gun had." Johnson said, clearly making an excuse. He proceeded to fire the gun five more times, with three hitting the sheet, and two hitting the body. He emptied the cylinder and loaded the rounds one at a time. "Alright, I have 7 points. You need 8 or more to beat me." He said as he handed the gun to Chris.

"Points?" He asked.

"Yeah! One point for hitting the sheet, two for a body shot, and three for a headshot." Jackson explained.

"Okay…" Chris said, aiming the gun at the target. He took a deep breath in and brought the hammer down. He put his finger near the trigger. He quickly pulled the trigger and braced for the recoil. It hit like a truck, bringing the gun in the air and nearly knocking him back. The gunshot sound was not as intense, as his ears has gotten used to it. He saw the target not get hit, or even grazed. He aimed the gun at the target again, this time aiming for the center of the target. He took a deep breath and brought the hammer down and fired. The recoil wasn't as bad, since he had gotten used to it. The bullet hit the target, almost missing it.

'Two points. I need six more.' He thought as he looked at where the round hit. It had hit the left side of the person-like figure. He aimed to the left and up, hoping for a headshot. He fired the gun, and looked to see if his theory held water. It didn't and it almost cheated him out of a singular point. 'Shit! It didn't work! What the hell am I gonna do?! I'll need 3 body shots or 2 headshots, and I can't miss with the body. What am I-' he was cut off by a flashback.

 _Ps: To use Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, aka VATS, just say the acronym and it will activate it for you._

'It's risky, and it might not even work. But it's better than nothing. I think I got this,' He thought as he tightened his grip on the revolver. 'All or nothing!'

"VATS," He whispered. Time stopped instantly. The target was zoomed in. The head area was illuminated, with a flashing 95% next to it. Chris smiled, and looked to the bottom left of his peripheral. It showed some commands, like pulling the trigger to select, saying 'cancel' to cancel the shot, and saying 'fire' to start firing. He pulled the trigger twice for the head, and shifted the gun down to the torso. It also had a 95% chance for a hit. He pulled the trigger once and took a deep breath.

'This is it. As they say, go big or go home. And it looks like I'm not going home anytime soon so…' He closed his eyes.

"Fire." He said as his eyes shot open. He watched as his body fired two shots at the head, before shifting down and shooting the torso. He didn't feel the recoil, and didn't feel the trigger. It was almost as if it was somebody else, but he saw through their eyes. Nevertheless, he looked at the target, as it approached. One miss, two torso hits, one sheet hit, and two headshots, making a grand total of 11 points! He smiled as he looked at Jackson. His head was hung in defeat. "I guess this is mine now." Chris said to him.

"I guess it is," he said, admitting defeat.

"Well I gotta go so I'll see you around." Chris said as he walked away, his prize in hand.

"Wait a sec. I want to give you something." He said, running behind the coulter and fishing for something. Chris stopped and looked. Johnson handed him a holster and a small pack.

They were both brown, with the holster reminding him of something out of one of those John Wayne movies his dad showed him. The pack looked like a small pocket that attached to a pants belt.

"That pack has 42 rounds in it. Use them wisely, that type of ammo doesn't come cheap. Here, put these into your gun before you forget. The last thing you want is to be in a fight with no ammo." He said, giving Chris six rounds. He ejected the used bullets and started putting the fresh ones in.

"If the ammo cost so much, then why are you giving me so much?" It was a good question that Chris brought up.

"I don't know. I just got this feeling to. It doesn't matter though. Didn't you have to go somewhere?" He said, reminding Chris of his mission and time limit.

"Shit," he whispered to himself, then he brought his voice to his normal speaking volume. "Umm, yeah. Thanks for reminding me. See ya around!" He said before running out of McCarthy's Guns.

'Dammit! How much time do I have left?!' He thought as he looked at his PipBoy. '7 minutes. Okay, I need to buy potions or whatever they have as healing items. After that, I just gotta haul ass back to the Basilicom.' He thought as he entered the nearest potions shop.

"Look, would you reconsider?" One male voice asked.

"For the last time, no. I'm not going to trust my life in something that might not work. Goodbye," The female voice said, walking past Chris and out of the shop.

"Hey, what was that about? Chris said, walking to the shopkeeper.

"Sigh, I made this new potion that can revive you." He said, sitting on a stool behind the counter.

"What makes that different from a Phoenix Down?" Chris asked.

"Well, the user has to meet a requirement and it gives you a huge reward for doing it." He said.

"What is it?"

"Well, from what I've read, once you drink it, if you lose all of your HP in ten minutes, it will revive you. Afterwards, you will gain a huge adrenaline boost, with a boost to all of your stats, with the exception of your HP and SP. Not only that, but it, supposably, also heals you exceptionally, and not just leaving you on Death's Door." He explained.

"Then what's the problem?" He asked, growing curious about the potion that seemed like a Deus ex Machina.

"I never tested it. It's all based on a recipe that I read. I tried asking every adventurer, but they don't want to risk it. Hey, you look like an adventurer, can you do me a favor? Take it on your adventure and see if it works. Could you do that for me?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure! This might come in handy." Chris said. He grabbed the bottle and held it near his PipBoy. It was digitalized, and he turned his attention to the shopkeeper. "What do you have for sale?"

"Oh, right."

* * *

After buying some health potions, Chris walked out and looked at his PipBoy. He had about 4 minutes left, and he still had some money on him.

'Shit! I better run!' Chris thought as he went into a full on sprint, heading in the direction that seemed to lead to the Basilicom. After a few minutes of running he saw the street that lead to the Basilicom. He went to turn there, but a car blocked the road. There was no other way around it and the other street was to far. 'Damn, this is why I hate the city!' He thought as he started walking directly away from the car. 'Screw it!' He dashed at the car, not stopping for anything or anyone. The passenger window was open, so he jumped and put his foot on the part where the window sunk into the door. He put his other on the top of the cab of the car, and brought his first foot on there too. He continued using what momentum he had to jump off of the cab and onto the ground. He performed a PK roll and continued running. He saw the steps of the Basilicom and ran up them. He stopped at the door and caught his breath. 'I, I have never ran that fast before.' He thought as he checked the time. About one minute left, maybe less. He opened the door and saw his two teammates.

"I made it." He said, walking to them.

"Hello!" Compa responded.

"He actually made it. Not like I'm impressed or anything." IF said.

"Come on Iffy, stop acting so tsundere." Compa replied to the brunette. Chris stopped immediately.

'Wait what?' Chris thought.

"W-What? I-I'm not acting tsundere!" IF quickly replied, blushing.

Chris blocked them out before they started talking. 'Oh man, I'm getting too old for this.' He thought. He started walking past them and up to Histoire.

"Hey, don't we have something to do? Ass to kick, names to take, world to save." He said, stopping their conversation.

"Oh, right. Yeah." IF said, losing most of her blush. Some was there, but it was most likely due to embarrassment, or that's what Chris told himself. As she was walking up beside him, she whispered a "Thank you" to him.

"No prob." He whispered back, before clearing his throat. "Alright Histoire, what do we got to work with?" He said in his normal speaking tone.

"Okay, now that everyone is here let us begin. The CPUs are being held in the second floor of the Gamindustri Graveyard. I can only teleport you to the first floor. About one fourth in, we will lose contact. After that, You'll be on your own. Is everyone prepared?" Histoire said.

"Ready as we'll ever be." Chris said for the group.

"Okay, everyone step here." Histoire gestured to a platform. Each one of them stepped on it.

"This is the point of no return. You all sure you can do this?" Chris asked, looking at the two.

"Yeah, let's go save Nep-Nep, Ge-Ge, and the rest!" Compa said with enthusiasm.

"I've come this far, I'm not going to let them down now!" IF also said.

"If we don't do this, then the word's gonna go to Hell. I ain't letting that happen. Let's do this." Chris said. He looked at Histoire and gave her a thumbs up. "Beam us up, Scotty!" He said as he started to phase away. A blinding light enveloped the three possible saviors.

 **Finally, I am back! I'm like the Terminator, we always come back. If you could not guess, I am super tired. I've been working on this for God knows how long. But I'm done. And BTW, 6.1K words (Excluding the AN at the end) exact. I would like to give a shout out to BlackKyurem27 for helping me with some elements of the story that will be more prominent in Ch2. Also, I need a title and a possible better summary. If you have any questions about the weaponry or my choices, just PM me and I'll respond at the end of Ch 2. Anyway, it's 2 Am on New Year's Day so I'm going to upload this and go to sleep. If there are any mistakes in the story, it's probably because I'm so tired that I don't even feel my finger hit the SHIFT key but that's besides the point. Happy New Year's Day, and this is for a better year. Peace.**


	2. Siege on a Graveyard

The light dissipated as the world around them became clear. They were no longer in the Basilicom. It looked like a hellish junkyard. There was junk everywhere and the sky was dark, almost as if a rainless thunderstorm was as far as the eye can see. The place was void of life.

"Holy shit," Chris said with his eyes widened with shock. "This looks like the Capital Wasteland, just less radiation. How in the hell are we going to find them?"

"All we have to do is go to the second floor, then use the sharisite on the CPUs. Let's not waste any time." IF said "I'll take point. Compa, get behind me and Chris watch the rear. But if you even try to-"

"Calm down, I wouldn't even think it. I may be a guy but I'm not an asshole, most of the time." He said, muttering the last part.

Chris drew his revolver and started walking backwards, looking for any trouble. He heard his teammates footsteps behind him, or would it be in front of him, as they continued.

After a few minutes of walking and no enemies, Chris received a message on his Pip-Boy. It's from Histoire, saying that they are close to losing contact with her and to be wary of enemies, who will become more common and more deadly.

"We're on our own, be careful," Chris said, turning around. The two females nodded as he walked ahead of them. He stopped, hearing a low growl. He held up his hand to stop the two, and put a finger to his lips.

"What is it?" IF asked from behind him.

"I heard a growl, I wanna make sure my mind isn't playing tricks on me. Watch your back." He responded.

"Are you sure? We don't have time to waste." IF continued.

"I know, that's why I want to make sure. If we get jumped, then we'll waste even more time." He responded.

"Who even put you in charge?"

"IF, not now," he whispered, swearing to hear another growl.

"Look, you don't even know much about this world, how do you," a dark figure jumped behind IF, "know what you're doin-"

"IF! Get down!" Chris yelled, cutting her off.

"Huh, what do you- AHH" IF said before Chris cut her off by grabbing her shoulders and pushing onto her knees. The figure pounced, missing IF but not Chris.

The dark figure hit like a truck, knocking Chris to the ground. It didn't stop there, as it started biting for the area between the neck and shoulder. Chris managed to put his hands up to stop it, but it was persistent, fighting Chris so that it can kill him.

"GET IT OFF!" Chris yelled at his teammates while struggling to fight it off. He got a grip and pushed it away. He went to push it some more but it had changed targets, going for the nearest piece of flesh that was there, his right wrist. It chomped down, causing blood to come out. "AHHHH! KILL IT! KILL ITTTT!" He screamed as he tried to get it to release him. "IF! HELP ME!" He pleaded as his teammate stood there, in a stunned state. However, she broke out of it and saw what was going on. He struggled some more and managed to break free. He pushed it away with all his strength and then kicked it. He drew his revolver and fired two frantic shots, ending it. It was unknown which shot killed it, or if the kick broke its neck somehow.

He finally got a good look at it. It looked like a cybernetic wolf of some kind. It looked to be about 4 feet long from its nose to the beginning of its tail. The metal plating along with its fur was a dark grey. The cybernetics seemed to be pumping something into it, but it had stopped when it was killed. The teeth were about three inches in length, with its canine teeth being four.

He extended his left hand and IF picked him up. "IF, what happened?" He asked, looking at his wrist that put his right hand out of commission.

"I,I don't know. I just froze. That thing could've gotten me, and killed me. Or Compa. Thank yo-" She was saying before Chris stopped her.

"Hold on, that's a wolf right? Or something similar? Don't wolves usually travel in," Chris said before eight more wolves like the one he killed showed up, "packs?" They all looked around each other, realizing they were surrounded. "IF, you got a plan?" Chris asked, holding is revolver in his left hand only.

"Umm, Chris you got something?" She asked back.

"Yeah, but do you mind giving us some cover?" He asked as he had an idea.

"Yeah, I think I can."

"Okay, thanks. Compa come here."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm not a master with my swords so I need two hands to wield them properly. Same with my gun. Yeah I can shoot my gun and swing my swords with one hand but only if the situation requires it. Just cover us." He said as he let Compa do her work.

IF pulled out her qatar and began to attack the cyberwolves. After about a minute, Compa patched up his wrist so he can rejoin the fight.

"That'll hold me for a bit." He muttered while he felt it for a second. He saw one try to flank IF but Chris took it down with a single shot from his .44 magnum.

"Thank you, I didn't see that one." She said.

"No problem," he looked around, seeing all the wolves. "How many are there?"

"They keep coming, no matter how many I kill." IF informed him.

"Okay, just keep fighting. I don't think we can outrun these things." He looked to Compa. "You heard that Compa?" She nodded. Chris questioned her weapon though.

'A giant syringe, why?' He thought, but considering what's been happening the last two days, he has gotten used to it.

He attacked the wolves, using his Shocksword's ability to to chain attacks to defeat them quicker, as long as he hit the parts unprotected by metal. He soon realyzed what IF meant, seeing as these things came out of the woodwork. They continued fighting, seeing no end to them.

"We can't fight these things off, we need to get out of here!" He said, trying to make an opening in the direction they were heading.

He switched to his magnum and fired the three last shots, with pinpoint accuracy. He emptied the cylinder and inserting each round one at a time, keeping his head down. He put the last bullet in, closed the cylinder, and brought the hammer down. He started firing again. More and more showed up. One of them pinned IF and another did the same to Compa.

"Dammit, VATS!" He said, stopping time and allowing him to shoot both wolves in the head. After killing them, he ran to IF, who was closer, and helped her up. "I got Compa, get out of here!" He yelled, before running. There were three wolves in his way, and he only had one bullet left. He ran and dove over them face first, with his gun in front of him. He landed with a grunt and picked himself up. Compa was right there and he bolted for her. He slid past some more wolves and got to Compa. He tackled a wolf and hit it with the handle of his gun. One more jumped for Compa and he shot it. "Get out of here. Run for IF!" He told her. She took off past him, while he was surrounded by 5 cyberwolves. "Five wolves, one Chris. Yeah, that seems about fair."

He drew his Shishkabob and charged, slashing the first two and blocking a hit from a third. He struck it with his blade and followed it up with two more strikes, ending it. He saw the opening and made a run for it. He saw IF and Compa taking shelter behind a car, or what looked to be one anyway. He took a quick turn away from the shelter to buy them some time. He could hear the cyberwolves gaining on him so he decided to make a last stand. He jumped onto a rusted car and reloaded the revolver as quickly as humanly possible. One wolf had made it to the car only to receive a bullet for its troubles. Chris changed targets and fired a second round. He did this until there were none after him. He jumped down and ran to the two females.

"You guys alright?" He asked as he arrived on scene.

"I-Yeah, we're okay." IF replied, sitting with her back to the car.

"Thats a relief." Chris said, sitting opposite of the two.

"You think we fought them off?"

"I don-," he stopped himself, "I hope so." He looked down, not knowing what to say. "So, how far do we have?" Chris said after a few seconds of silence.

"I don't know, but if I had a map I could find out." IF said, looking down. "Why didn't I grab one?"

"Here." He tossed his Pip-Boy 3000 to her. She caught it and held it in her hands, confused as to what to do. "Press the Data Button, then use the knob to turn it to the second one. It should show a local map. It will be zoomed out so you should see the entirety of it." He told her as she followed his commands.

"Okay, alright. We are halfway there, about 1 kilometer away from the second floor." IF said, examining the device.

"Yeah, I have a question about that anyway. This place doesn't look like it has a second floor, or even a roof. So how is there a second floor?"

"Well, it isn't technically a second floor. It's just another area within that larger place. Have you ever played one of those old retro games?" She has asked, looking for an easier way to explain it.

"Yeah, it's been a while but I remember what it's like." He said, remembering back to when he played the first Legend of Zelda.

"Okay, so think of each area as dungeons and each floor as a different room. The enemies can't follow you and each time you go into a different room, you get farther away from the exit." IF finished.

"Okay, I think I get it." He said before getting up. "We better get moving. If we stay here too long, they can get us again." started looking to the way they must go. "Hopefully, we won't lose one of us in the process." He muttered to himself.

"Alright, let's get the hell out of her-" IF was stating before getting cut off by a scream.

"Compa!" The two said, realizing that the girl was nowhere near them. They followed the scream until they came upon Compa.

"Compa, are you alright? What happened?" Chris asked, his hand shaking to touch her shoulder. She turned around, shock clearly seen on her face. She was shaking, almost as if the entire world had turned to ice. "Compa, what happened?" He asked again.

"Compa, we won't know what happened until you tell us. Please, tell us." IF asked her close friend. Compa grabbed IF and pulled her into a comforting embrace. This let Chris see what she had screamed about. While he didn't scream, it did make him put his hand to his mouth in shock.

"Holy," Chris whispered, not being able to finish the statement.

In front of him were two corpses, two human corpses. The first looked like it had been burned to death, while the other had been frozen solid. They both appeared to be male, with each seeming to be wearing light armor. He took a shaking hand near the first corpse and felt. He seems to have been burnt for a few weeks now. He had placed his hand around the neck and chest area. He found a metal piece. He gave it a tug and it popped off. It felt to be dog tags. He had looked at it. They seemed to be spared of the burning. He looked at them. The first one reading 'Planeptune Recon Team Alpha 1' with a N symbol on it. The second read 'Mason, Edward' and showed the same symbol. Chris closed his eyes for a few seconds.

He looked to the other body. Their expression showed that they were conscious through it all. He pulled out his Shishkabob and used its heat to melt some of the body, specifically the same area the dog tags were. He finished melting and grabbed the tags. The first showed 'Planeptune Recon Team Alpha 2' and showed the same N symbol however, the second tag showed the name 'Taylor, Andrew.' He showed the same respect to this man as he did with the other. He then noticed a small SD-like card in his pocket. He grabbed it and pocketed it, saving it for when, or if, he gets out of there.

"What happened?" Chris asked after IF finishing comforting Compa.

"Holy crap, what did this?" IF asked barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes for each of them as well. "They look familiar, but I'm not sure from where." She brought up in her normal voice.

"I, uh, managed to get these off of them." He handed her the two dog tags, not telling her about the card.

"Oh man." She read them. Her eyes widened. "Andrew, Edward. This is what happened."

"You know them?"

"They were on the Recon team."

"I know but, what Recon team?"

"Oh right. The Recon team was sent in a few months ago. They were tasked with finding the CPUs and coming back with the information. A team of six were sent in. Only one made it back, and almost died doing so. He received a severe wound to the front area of the head."

"Why didn't you send a team after them? There could've been a chance of finding some of them alive."

"If we did, we would've put more lives on the line. We're stretched thin as it is." IF said, making Chris realize what mission they are on now.

It was a suicide mission.

He finally got it. A team of six professionals went in and got slaughtered, with the exception of one. Now, they have less men, less weaponry, and, at least for Chris, less experience on the battlefield. He looked at the two and decided not to tell them yet. But another question came up.

"If these guys were killed," Chris started, getting his handgun out, "then who's the killer?" The two girls realized their predicament and looked around. "Yeah, let's go. Now."

The group started heading in the direction they were directed to go, with a quickened pace, until they heard a loud, inhuman roar. The group looked around until a shadow passed over them. They looked to where the shadow went and saw something they never thought they would see. A literal dragon. It landed on the ground, making the ground shake. The shape reminded Chris of a dragon from Skyrim, with a large, slender body and huge wings. It seemed to be similar to the wolves they killed earlier, with cybernetic upgrades being prominent all over its body. It had two large glass or plastic containers on each side of its mouth. One was filled with a light bluish liquid, and the other, which seemed to be connected moreso to its actual mouth, contained a dark reddish liquid. Its scales were a bronze color, indicating it was powerful in Skyrim terms, but he wasn't sure what it meant in this world. Its metal plates seemed to be reinforced around certain parts, like the midsection. Chris thought of this as a weak point if he had to fight it to the death.

"So, is this one of those 'Ancient Dragons' you were talking about, IF?" Chris said, slowly stepping back.

"No, this is definitely new." IF said, following Chris' idea.

"Well, I'm no betting man, but I'm willing to bet that this thing took down those two soldiers. I'm pretty sure fighting it is out the window." Chris informed the two.

"Got any ideas?" IF asked, looking for an out. Chris thought about it for a bit.

"Dammit! I got nothing," Chris said to the brunette. He looked at his gun, then at the dragon. "Okay I got it."

"What is it?"

He started turning around quickly. As he was turning, he raised his gun and fired at the dragon. "RUN LIKE HELL!" He yelled as he took off like a bullet train. The other two and the dragon didn't expect this move as they responded accordingly. IF and Compa followed Chris quickly while the dragon roared and flew into the air, making the ground shake due to its wings. IF caught up to Chris.

"Chris, what the hell were you thinking?!" She asked.

"What part of 'Run like hell' do you not understand?" Chris asked with sarcasm.

"Idiot, why didn't you say that this was part of your plan?" She said, wanting to smack Chris upside the head.

"I'll explain that when and if we get out of-" Chris stopped and pushed IF away.

"Hey, what are you-?" Her question was answered by the dragon that breathed fire where the two were running earlier. IF turned around and saw Compa dodge it as well.

"Don't stop running! If we can make it to the second floor, then we'll lose that thing!" She heard Chris say from across the crackling fire. She looked behind her and saw Compa was on her side. The two ran until they could be reunited and continued. They heard the dragon behind them and Chris looked behind himself. "Shit! RUN!" The two heard as Chris turned around and ran to the dragon. Speaking of which, the dragon was now gliding over the ground with its mouth open. Chris fired at the open mouth and saw it did some work, since the dragon closed its mouth and changed its course so it would fly up instead of towards the shooter. He stopped and took a moment to catch his breath.

'I hope that this thing can take the hint,' Chris thought, 'I'm not sure if I'm up to fighting this ugly mother-' He realysed that he was being left behind as he ran to his comrades, the dragon stalking him from above.

* * *

Chris managed to catch up with his allies and they decided it was best if they took a break to regain their composure.

"Do you have any idea as to what the that hell thing was? It looked like something out of an anime or some shit like that." Chris said.

"I haven't seen any of those before, same with those wolves. ASIC must be modifying normal monsters to make them more powerful." IF commented.

"..." Chris didn't say a word,he was thinking back to his previous thought.

'Was it really a suicide mission, or was this world making him go crazy? We might end up like those soldiers who were killed, but there is a chance.' Chris thought about their advantages and disadvantages. 'They didn't know where to go, we do. They have strength in numbers, we can be more stealthy. But then there's-'

"Hey, you there?" IF asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face a few times.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." He said, breaking out of his thoughts.

'I'll finish this later.' He thought.

"Anyway, I just wanted to thank you. We'd probably be dead right now if you weren't here." IF said.

"No problem, although you do owe me something."

"What?" If it's what I think it is then you will wish that-" He pointed to his left forearm, where his Pip-Boy was. "Oh right, that." She handed him it back, embarrassed.

"Did you honestly think I would ask for sexual favors? I'm not losing it until I'm older." He told her bluntly.

"What is 'it'? Compa asked, confused.

"..." Both Chris and IF stayed silent, but they seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes.

'Well, there's only one way for this to go; you do it.' He told IF through his glare.

'No way, you tell her.' She responded with her eyes.

'Fuck that shit, you do it! You've been her friend for a long ass time!' He told her through his look.

'You're the one who brought it up.'

'Fine, why don't say it at the exact same time.' His eyes said, coming up with a compromise.

'Okay.'

'Ready? 3.'

'2'

'1'

"You'll learn when you're older." They both said at the same time.

"Aww, you're both talking in sync" Compa said, making the two widen their eyes.

"What are you talking about? We only did that because we couldn't decide who would-" The two said in sync again, but they stopped when they realised they were about to remind Compa about 'it'. "Nevermind that. I think it's best if we started to head out. I mean, Gamindustri isn't going to save itself. So let's move." They both said, slightly blushing.

"Aww, that's cute, you two are blushing." She said again, making them turn a darker red. "Now I know why Iffy was acting so tsundere."

IF's face became as red as an apple. "I-I-I-I-Idiot! I don't even like him and besides," IF began to talk nonsense, getting faster with each passing second. Chris sighed and looked at Compa.

"Compa, I think it's best we start heading out. I don't think Nep-Nep, Ge-Ge and the rest of them are wanting to stay here." He told her in a stern voice.

"Okay, but what about Iffy?" She asked, looking to her childhood friend. She was still talking about how she didn't like Chris.

He facepalmed. "Don't worry, I'll get her." He walked over to her. Now, he had two ways of doing this. He could either shake her back to reality, or slap the sense back into her. He decided to go with the former, but use the latter if it wasn't working. He grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her back and forth. "Get a grip of yourself, woman!" He told her as he continued shaking her. She snapped back into reality after two seconds.

"What are you doing?!" She asked as she broke free from him.

"Good to see that your back." He said, holding back a laugh.

"What'd you mean?"

"I think it's best if I tell you later. Right now, we gotta go." He told her, avoiding the answer. "Come on, Compa's waiting on us." He said, walking to the other girl. IF got up and walked to the two and they started their trek.

Two minutes of walking later, the trio saw what looked to be the entrance to the second floor. In-between that, though, was a large open area. On the side that they were on was a large pile of junk standing up straight and off the path to the right. There was a similar pile on the other side's exit but to the left.

'This looks like a boss arena if I've ever seen one.' Chris thought, looking at the path. 'What happened to that dragon, though? Is it-' It hit him. 'Oh shit.'

"Come on, the second floor is this way." IF said, before running there. Chris and Compa both headed after her, with Chris covering the rear. They heard a familiar roar. The Cyberdragon came down from the sky and landed, separating IF from the group. The landing caused the pile near the entrance to topple over, blocking off that path.

"I knew it." He muttered, drawing his Shishkabob. "IF, get out of here!" He shouted before blocking a bite from the dragon with his blade. Chris waved for Compa to go on ahead. She ran past it while Chris striked its head, dealing little damage.

It responded by opening its mouth and Chris heard metallic parts moving. A split second later, fire came out of its mouth, catching Chris off guard. His first response was to try to block it with his blade. Surprisingly, it worked. He felt the licks of the embers on him, but nothing that would kill him. IF and Compa watched with their mouths open. Chris ducked away from the two causing the dragon to turn as well, as it was determined to kill him. He saw that the opening was there, so he took it and ran. They saw what he was pulling and went with it, running before he could catch up. The Cyberdragon took off and started gliding across the ground, similar to when they were running away earlier.

Chris had a sense of deja vu, and pulled out his .44 and fired at the dragon's mouth. Unfortunately, the dragon learned and closed its mouth and looked down, causing the bullet to have no effect. It received a boost in speed as it rammed Chris and sent him flying away to the right, left if your looking from the exit. He hit the wall and landed on the ground with a loud thud and felt his vision grow slightly dim.

IF and Compa saw what happened to Chris and IF knew they were next. "Compa, run for the second floor! I'll buy some time!" She ordered as she faced the dragon.

She tried hitting the dragon in the head with her Qatar, with no effect. It went to bite her, but she rolled out of the way. It breathed more fire at her and she couldn't dodge it all, making her fall and obtain the burn effect. She patted out some of the fire, which caused her health to decrease slower.

A notification occurred on Chris' Pip-Boy. He managed to turn it to Stats and then Team, which replaced the Perks subgroup. It showed his vitals along with IF and Compa. Compa's info was unavailable, since she was on a different floor, and IF's health was still decreasing.

It was when her HP reached yellow when she responded. She looked at Chris, then at the exit, then back. He nodded for her to go, and she did. As she was heading there, the dragon followed her and was gaining ground. Chris pulled out his magnum and aimed down the iron sights at the situation. He saw a way for IF to get out, but not him. He hoped they could make it and back before he died. He fired at the junk pile, causing it to fall down. IF was on the other side when it fell and the dragon was pushed away from IF and into the arena.

"IF get out of here! I'll buy y'all some time!" He shouted.

"What about you?! You're going to die!" She shouted back. She had a point, but he knew what was best.

"Rescuing the CPUs is our primary cause! We have to get them out of here at all costs!" He shouted back. "Just go!"

He heard her leave the floor as he faced his foe. He drew his Cryoblade and faced the beast. He dug his feet into the ground and took a defencive stance. It roared and flew into the air, out of his reach. He decided to not use his .44 as it didn't effect it earlier. It swooped over his head and breathed its fire. He used his left hand to get his Shishkabob and block it. It landed and Chris took no time to start his attack. He used his left handed weapon to slice its body and his right handed weapon as a follow up. He rinsed and repeat until it hit him with its skull.

He got back up and charged again, this time moving around it as well. He went for the neck, jumping onto it and going for a downward stab. It didn't react in time to shake him off and Chris managed to do a good bit of damage. He saw a dark blue liquid come out of it, presumably from the upgrades. It shaked him off and he landed with a roll. It took flight and started going with a style similar to carpet bombing, burning when it got close to the ground. Chris was unaffected as he could block, but it did get annoying. He thought of a way to bring it down and then it hit him.

He ducked behind some cover and checked his weapons. In place of a weapon's durability bar, was a bar that said 'Power' and had about four levels. His Cryoblade was at the halfway point between two and three. His Shocksword was at the third and his Shishkabob was a fourth between two and three. He thought back to his abilities and remembered one called Ice Raid. He got out of cover and faced the dragon. He held out his Cryoblade (His Shishkabob was sheathed) and he closed his eyes.

"Ice Raid!" He said, as an energy took. His body seemed to move on its own as he struck the air. The first two were diagonal strikes, with his third being an upward strike while backflipping. He landed and he threw the blade while in mid strike. He landed and regained control of his body. Each strike sent out an energy wave of ice that homed in on the dragon. The blade did so as well. He saw it fall down to the ground, its wings frozen.

Chris drew his Shocksword and dashed for the head of it. It moved and went to bite him, with no effect. He slashed the head, and it seemed to cause it to be stunned. Chris climbed onto its back and went to the highly reinforced portion of the dragon's back. He stabbed his blade into it and started cutting it. He managed to cut a good sized square as the dragon began to recover. He removed the metal as the dragon turned to him and roar. His first response was to throw it at the head, which he did. It did finch as it hit its face, but it did nothing. It then looked back at him more annoyed than pissed. Chris went to stab the weak point, only for him to see more metal. He didn't get all the way through.

The Cyberdragon took no time to waste as it grabbed Chris by his left arm with its teeth. It looked to its left, and Chris was flung in that direction, but was still at the beast's mercy. It then quickly looked to the right, opening its mouth about three fourths of the way. Chris was sent flying in that direction, his arm bleeding as he saw his destination. He held out his hands to try to reduce the force he would face. He hit the ground and he lost consciousness. After a second, he regained his composure and looked at the wound.

It was bad. His arm was definitely out of commission and he didn't have a way to get it back in the fight. He received another notification, this time for his own status. He used his right arm to check it. His health was defiantly low and his left arm was shown as crippled, making it useless. He thought back to the potion he received from that guy.

'No, that's a last resort. I can still hold my own for a bit longer. I just need some health.' He thought, moving to a standard healing potion. He selected two of them and drank the first. He looked up and saw the dragon making its way closer. 'Give me a break, for the love of all that is holy!' He thought, opening the second bottle and holding his left arm out. He took a deep breath and bit his tongue. He poured the contents onto the damaged limb, including the open wound. It burned like alcohol touching a recent wound, and he bit down more to keep himself from screaming and attracting more monsters. After the contents were dumped, he checked his status. His left arm, while still damaged, could reenter the fight. Chris looked at the Cyberdragon and drew his Shishkabob. He held it out and ran to the beast. He wasted no time before using his ability.

"Ember Blade!" He felt a larger sword of fire envelop the smaller blade. He saw himself dash at his foe, then turning back towards it and dashing again. He did it again and again, gaining speed with each hit. He dashed for the last time, jumping and twisting the blade and his body so he could slam into the ground. When he got into the right position, he slammed down on the dragon with all of his energy. It caused a small explosion, which didn't affect Chris, who was already standing up.

He managed to catch his breath. "That shut you up?!" He asked, leaning on the sword for support. Through the smoke and flame, Chris heard something. Then, a blast of ice came out from it, knocking him back. He tried blocking it, but it was ineffective. He felt his skin grow colder by the second. He started crawling away, towards his Cryoblade. "Come on! You're not dead yet!" He told himself as he felt his body start freezing up. The ice seemed to stop, and he heard the dragon. He felt a gust of wind on his back before he felt something cut into his back. He looked up and saw the dragon flying and fly up and and back towards him. It straightened itself and flew back to its original position. Chris braced as more ice came hitting him. He saw that the blade was in his reach so he started reaching fr it frantically, failing each time. He reached one more time, feeling his hand on the grip of the sword. He held it tightly and turned around, using the blade as his last hope. The Ice stopped, and he was still breathing. The dragon was confused, thinking that he would be dead, but he wasn't. "Didn't expect that move did ya, you dumb son of a bitch!?" He asked, getting up and using the heat from his other sword to melt the ice. He saw now that the blue pipe is more connected than the red pipe.

'Just have to keep my eyes on the pipes, and respond accordingly.' He looked at his enemy, thinking of weak points. 'There isn't any way I'll be able to kill this thing solo. But, there isn't a way in or out. What do I do?' He looked on at the standstill going on between him and the dragon. 'The only thing that comes to mind,' he got into an offensive stance, 'is to hit it until it dies!' He charged at it, sidestepping at random to keep it from getting a lock on him. He felt a boost of adrenaline that helped him fight through the pain.

The dragon breathed a tower of ice and flew to the top of it. Chris stabbed the pillar with his Shishkabob and ran over to receive his Shocksword. He picked it up and saw that the tower was starting to fall. He ran, grabbing his blade in the process and he concentrated on the dragon. It had to leave the pillar, which fell onto the junk pile blocking the exit, creating a one-way bridge. Chris started climbing it until he looked to his left and dodged the dragon trying to hit him. He felt his grip slip as he started to fall of the side. The dragon hit him with its head, knocking him to the wall again. He hit it and fell onto the ground face first. He looked up and saw the dragon had trapped him with ice, making a one-way hallway of sorts. It started gliding over the ground, its head down so it could crush him inbetween it and the wall. He drew his only hope, the .44, and aimed down the sights.

"Four shots left, gotta make them count." He told himself, putting his feet in a position as to where they would help absorb the recoil. "VATS!" He said, activating the mode. He selected the head four times, he breathed in and out. His life depended on these four shots. They couldn't fail him now. "Fire." He said. The first shot was fired, and did nothing. Same with the second, and the third. Chris asked for whoever was in charge upstairs to bless this bullet. He fired the last one, and it did something. He saw blood come out of the eye of the dragon, meaning he got a hit!

But the dragon didn't stop. It still flew at him.

'Everyone, I'm sorry. I hope my death wasn't in vain.' He thought as death came in slow motion, due to VATS. Wait. 'VATS is still on? Why?' He thought, until he heard something.

An acoustic guitar.

He heard a string, then another. Then four more. He felt his eyes blink for a millisecond, and in front of him was a man. He had on a detective's trenchcoat, with a matching fedora. He saw burgundy pants, but couldn't see what type of shoes and shirt he was wearing. He saw the man pull out a magnum from his side, a .44 to be exact. He saw him hold it with one hand, shooting from the the hip, and fired. The first shot sent the dragon to the other side of the hallway, with a large hole where some of the metal used to be. He pulled the trigger again, and again, and again, and again. Each shot did more and more damage to the dragon. Finally, he aimed down the iron sights and fired. This shot hit the dragon's head, turning it into a pile of raw meat, scrap metal, and disappointment. Chris heard the guitar again as he was forced to blink again. The man was gone, leaving as quickly as he came.

"What the hell?" He whispered, looking at were the man was. There was nothing. He then turned his head to the used to be Cyberdragon. The adrenaline that fought off the pain ran out and he felt a sharp pain on his back. He drank a potion that healed him and he checked his stats. His level went from a ten to a fifteen, and his weapons all ranked up. His Shocksword hit rank ten and he received a new skill called 'Thunder'. He sat down. "That was the Mysterious Stranger, no doubt. But, why is he here? He doesn't exist in this world, at least I don't think he does. I'm wasting time, I need to catch back up with my team." He thought as he felt blood seep through his multiple wounds. "I better hurry."

Luckily, the bridge was still there, so he made his way up it and he looked down. It was a hell of a drop. He saw some junk that might help him climb down. He jumped to it and grabbed the surprisingly secure rubble. He landed and looked to his left. There was a path that seemed to lead to the beginning.

'That'll be handy later.' He thought as he saw the way to the second floor. He stepped onto it and felt light envelop him.

 **Boom! And that is Chapter II, done. I am so glad to have gotten this thing done. Classes changed soon after I finished Chapter I so I had to get used to it. That and I decided to change what was going to happen about ½ way through writing. So I had to do that as well. I was going to have all of Gamindustri Graveyard be in Chapter II, but I didn't want to delay the post any further. Anyway, let me get to working on Chapter III. Have a good day, and peace out.**


	3. Judge Vs Executioner

"We have to go back for him, he needs us." Compa said for the sixth time.

"No, there isn't a way back. We need to get ready to head out." IF said back. They were on the second floor of the Graveyard. They decided to make a small camp to rest and think of a plan. Compa healed IF and asked where Chris was. When she told her that he had trapped himself in an arena with no way out, she begged IF to go with her to save him.

"There has to be a chance, Iffy. Please, he could be in trouble."

"If we go, then we risk getting killed. He might be dead now." IF remembered Chris' condition last she saw. He was on the ground, unable to stand. "He couldn't stand, last I saw. He's probably gone."

"He's our teammate, it's our job to look after him."

"You're missing a teammate?" A male voice asked from the entrance to the second floor. Some of the light seemed to leave the area, making him completely in the dark. His voice was one who sounded like they've been in a fight for their life, but was used to it.

"Who are you?" IF asked, arming herself and pointing her weapons at the figure.

"Relax IF, I won't hurt you. Now, what did he look like?" The voice asked from the shadows.

"Chris? Well, he was about 5 foot 11, had messy dark brown hair, and brown eyes. He had on-" Compa said before she was interrupted.

"That's all I need to know. I saw him, and he's a mess." He said, walking closer so the girls could see a silhouette. He was about 6 foot 4 inches, including a hat of some kind on his head. IF thought about what he said but before she could ask a question, Compa beat her to the punch.

"I-Is he still alive?" She asked.

"That is something that you will have to answer yourself, Miss Compa." He looked at his left wrist, rolling back his sleeve. "I'm sorry, but I must go. Thank you and goodbye." He said, walking back into the shadows.

"Hey, wait!" IF asked, rushing to where he was, only to find nothing. "Dammit. Where is he?" She muttered.

"Iffy, Chris might still be alive. We have to go." She said to her friend, who was looking around for the mystery man.

"That man could be lying, trying to lure us into a trap." IF said, walking back to her friend. "There isn't that much of a chance."

"But there is still one." IF heard, but not from Compa. She turned around and saw a familiar face. "Hello there, comrades. How's it been?" Chris asked, bloody and bruised. He was holding his left arm with his right hand. Yet, he was still smiling a weak smile.

"Chris!" The two said, rushing up to him.

"I'm Chris." He said weakly.

"Are you alright? What happened?" IF asked, showing general concern for him.

"Wow IF, I didn't think you'd care. But all of that can wait. First, can somebody turn off that bright light that's pulling me in?" He asked, falling face first. The two caught him and brought them to their little base. "Thanks, I honestly didn't think I'd make it." He said, as Compa looked at his wounds with concern.

"Here, this should take care of most of your wounds." Compa said, getting to work on his arm and bruises that he received from falling.

"How did you get out of there with that dragon on your tail?" IF asked, wondering if he was able to find a gap or something.

"It made an ice pillar and I knocked it down so it would act as a bridge to the second floor entrance. I used that to get here after the dragon died." He told her.

"Wait, you killed it!?" IF asked, astonished that he could take out something that she could barely damage.

"Well, not exactly. Let me explain. I was backed against the wall in a hallway of sorts. The dragon was flying at me and I had no other choice but to use the thing I used when you two were pinned."

"VATS?" IF asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. If I say it, then it'll activate. So I used that and shot my last four shots into it. The first three did nothing, but the fourth got its eye."

"And that killed it?" She asked again.

"No, It did nothing. I thought I was done for, until I heard a guitar. I blinked and there was a man. He killed the dragon with six shots from his .44 and then I blinked again and he was gone. I used that ice pillar to cross the wall and I went to the second floor. I then managed to catch up with you two. And here we are now." He said, finishing his story.

"The man, what did he look like?" IF asked, remembering the mystery man.

"I'd say about 6 foot, with 4 inches for his hat." He said, making IF's eyes go wide.

"That sounds just like our mystery man. He appeared out of nowhere, said something about you, then left. Have you ever heard of this guy before you came to Gamindustri?" IF asked.

"Yeah, but it'll-" He started but Compa cut him off.

"Umm, excuse me, but can you please take off your shirt?" She asked, making his eyes go wide.

"... What?" He asked, a visible blush on his face.

"To get the large scratch on your back. Your shirt and coat are in the way." She told him.

"Oh, haha." He laughed, nervously. He went to go unequip his Duster via his Pip-Boy, but stopped. That would also remove his pants.

Embarrassed, he took off his coat and laid it down on the ground. He then, nervously, took off his shirt. Now, he wasn't the Rock, but he wasn't built like a beluga whale either. He had a normal build, nothing too crazy. His face's color resembled a tomato. He looked to IF, who was blushing as well, but not as intense. As Compa began to work on that wound, he continued.

"Where was I? Oh, yeah. So, the game where my armor and most of my weapons come from is the same game that has the man in it. He's a perk called 'The Mysterious Stranger'. When you use the targeting system, he will sometimes appear after you have done what you selected. He will insta-kill whatever you were last attacking if it's still alive. He has a powerful .44 magnum exclusive to him. Apparently, he can be seen by other people and he has existed in that game's world for at least 120 years, but even longer since he would have to grow up." He finished explaining. IF took a minute to process the information.

"How do you unlock the perk? How often does he appear? Has he been seen outside of VATS?" She asked in quick succession.

"If I remember right, you need a luck stat of 6. And you need to be level 10. The chances of him appearing depend on your luck. The higher luck, the better chance to get it. And, he does have a wife and son, so I believe so." He answered.

"Have you ever heard his voice?" She asked, scratching her chin.

"No, sorry."

"Okay, well thanks anyway." She looked down at the ground. "How have you been?"

"You mean before or after the dragon attack?" He asked, chuckling a bit.

She laughed a bit too. "I mean after. How are you so calm being on Death's Door?"

"I'll tell you something, IF. I am terrified. I was scarred for my life, but I had to put it aside. I used that fear to push through, and not let it take control of me and make me surrender. I used it as motivation, thinking to myself 'If I stop and cry about the fear, then I'll let it win. I have to fight it.' And so I did." He said. "But now, I've got other people to fight it off with me." He said, smiling at his teammate.

"There, that should be it." Compa said, standing up. Chris looked at the bandage work. It looked like it'll hold.

"Thanks, Compa. I probably would've bled out if it wasn't for you." He said, putting on his shirt, but not his coat. "So, what's our next move?" He asked IF.

"I think it's best if we get some rest. We'll need our energy for the last stretch." She said, grabbing anything flammable and making it into a pile.

"Good point, I'll look around for any hostiles and take them out. Use this sword to light the fire." He said, leaving the two with his Shishkabob. He looked around, but saw no sign of Cyberwolves, Cyberdragons, or anything which made him smile. Finally, something was going his way. He returned and saw a fire burning. He smiled as they began to eat.

* * *

"So, who's taking the first shift?" IF asked, looking at the other two. Chris raised his hand.

"I can take it, I'll wake you up when it's your turn, IF." He said as he laid out his coat as protection from the ground.

"Alright, I'll wake you two up when it's time to go." IF said, laying down on her own coat, with Compa having a blanket inside of her purse. Seriously, how does it do that? It's some Dr. Who shit right there. "Goodnight." She said as she and Compa drifted off to sleep, leaving Chris to himself.

He looked around to see if something was near the camp, but there was nothing. He sighed, placing his Pip-Boy on his lap. He went to his 'Ammo' subgroup in the 'Items' main group to see how many shots he had left. He had two reserve clips left and one loaded, making 18 shots to his name.

He looked at the time before he set out. It was 9:30 pm. He chuckled a small bit. "9:30, lights out. Guard begins his rounds." He said with a small smile on his face. Every thirty minutes or so, he would make his rounds.

After his third round, Chris remembered something from the day earlier. He pulled out the card and examined his Pip-Boy. He found no slot that would fit the card, so he digitalized it so he could insert it into a PC or something. Nevertheless, he got more things to feed the fire and let it eat.

After his fifth round, he decided to do check on his new skills, to see his new 'Thunder' ability. Unlike Fallout 3 where it displays different attributes that are determined by your SPECIAL stats, like Sneak, Unarmed Combat, Hacking, etc., it displays different skills that the user can use, along with what is required. He went to the skill and read the description of it. ' _Release the power of the clouds,'_ It reads, ' _Stab your blade into the ground and say 'Thunder' to activate a rain of electricity. Requires: Shocksword Rank 10, One bar of Power.'_ So that's how to use it. He smiled, wondering what it would be for the other two swords.

After doing his rounds numerous times, he checked the time. He should've woken IF up five minutes ago. He decided to let her sleep a bit longer, so he looked in his 'Music' subgroup for something. He saw different songs from 'I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire', to 'Numb/Encore', to the aforementioned '115'.

One song caught his eye as he looked through them. 'Where are we Going' was its name. He turned down the volume and sat in front of IF. He tested the sound and started playing the music. As the song played, the lyrics came flooding back to him, making him want to sing them. So, he complied.

 _Where are we going, from here?_

He began to sing softly. He didn't realize that IF woke up and saw Chris singing in a transfixed state of mind. She was about to talk to him, but decided to see what Chris was going to do and pretended to be asleep.

 _Where do we go?_

 _Are we all blinded, by fear?_

 _How do we know, how do we know?_

 _Where do we go, where do we go?_

 _How do we know? Where do we go?_

 _Where are we going, from here?_

 _How do we know, where do we go?_

He sang as the instrumental part began, raising in boldness. IF wondered why he would sing it. She pushed it aside as he begin to sing again.

 _Where are we going, from here?_

 _Do we let go of all we know?_

 _Are we all blinded, by fear?_

 _Where do we go, when we let go?_

The boldness ended and the softness set back in. IF got the feeling that Chris was singing to her, but she pushed it aside quickly. She also felt like the song meant something important, but she continued to hear Chris,

 _I feel I'm falling from here, from here._

 _Don't let me go._

 _Is it the calling_

 _We hear (We hear)_

 _How do (How do)_

 _We know?_

He finished, pausing the music before the next song began and sighed. The song posed a good question that he could not answer. Where would they go if the sharisite didn't work? They were putting their life on something that might not have enough energy to save the CPUs. He looked down with his hands holding each other.

"Hey, are you going to get some sleep?" The voice surprised him, making him reach for his gun. He looked up and saw IF looking at him. He sighed in relief.

"Don't do that." He said, taking his hand off of his .44 and standing up. "I was gonna let you sleep a bit longer."

"Why'd you sing it?" She asked.

"So, you were awake then too?" She nodded. "Give me a second." He walked behind some cover and used his Pip-Boy to change into his sleeping clothes. It was a simple white T-Shirt and black sweatpants. His weapons were automatically unequipped. He kept his boots on and his coat was still on the ground. He walked back and sat down next to IF, who was sitting where he was.

"So, did you just sing the song for the hell of it? Or was there a meaning to it?" She asked, with her hands holding each other and looking at him.

He copied her hand position, but was looking down. "At first, I was just passing time. But after the song ended, it posed a question. Where would we go if it didn't work? What do we do if the CPUs are still trapped? I don't know what the plan is, but I guess we'll have to hope for the best and roll with whatever punches come our way." He said, looking at her.

"Look, no matter what happens, we'll go through it together, as a team." She said, looking into his eyes. He looked down, a smile on his face.

"You know, there's one thing that I wanted to ask you." He said, looking into her eyes, their faces getting closer. "How are you not cold out here? Its gotta be the fire."

She looked at him, blushing. "I-Idiot!" She said, hitting him lightly in the arm. He laughed and got up.

"Anyway, Ima get some sleep. Wake us up when we gotta go, or if something goes down." He said, lying on his coat. He closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

He was woken up by IF along with Compa. After some food and a quick chat, the trio was ready to head out.

"Alright team, let's move. I'll take point." Chris said, drawing his Shocksword. He remembered gaining the ability 'Thunder' and was eager to try it out.

He lead the team until he stopped them. He scouted up ahead and found another fallen man. He seemed to have bled out, as indicated by a wound on his stomach. Chris was never used to seeing that type of violence firsthand, but he had grown a sort of resistance due to Doom. However, nothing could compare to the real thing. He felt sorry for him, as he had to go through so much pain before the release of death. Nevertheless, Chris gave his respects and took the dog tags. The same 'N' symbol, which he found out was a reference to the goddess of Planeptune, Neptune, was found in the same spot along with his name. His name being "DeLuca, Finn" and his other tag showed that he was the fourth member of the recon squad. That raises the question of where the third one went. But he disregarded it for now.

Chris then looked to the wound to try to see what lies up ahead. The wound looked like it came from a very large, curved bladed weapon or something of that nature. On his shoulder, there seemed to be a belt. Chris grabbed it and saw what it held. It was green in color, with a pin on it and it had a rough texture, with bumps all over its surface and it was round in shape. He knew what it was, even though he never used one in real life. I mean, who would give a frag grenade to a fifteen year old? He also saw another card on the belt. Chris took it for later. His focus went back to the frags. He wanted to show respects to the dead but, he also felt like he needed them. He sighed, hoping that it was the right thing to do. He removed the belt and placed it and the five grenades in his Pip-Boy's inventory.

"I'm sorry Finn, I might need this." He Chris said, kneeling down over the body. After doing so, he walked back to the two and decided to tell them right away. "Bad news." He said, getting their attention. Before they said anything, he showed them the dog tags. "It's pretty nasty." He warned, giving them to IF who took them and read the name. Chris could tell she knew who it was based on her body language.

"How bad?" She asked, not wanting to see a friend mutilated.

"He bled out, from what I could see. However, his organs are still in his body." He said, not wanting to give details.

IF walked past him and saw the body. She gave her respects and saw Chris was looking at where the blood trail Finn made. She got Compa and helped her to not scream at the sight of the body. She paid her respects as well, before going to Chris. She noises him to go away from Compa for a minute.

"You alright? You aren't looking so great." She asked, noticing his sick look.

"No it's," he paused and sighed, "it's just that I'm wondering who would do such a thing. And what their families are thinking." He said, his eyes watering slightly. He looked down to not let her see them.

"Hey," she said, quietly. "Hey." She said slightly louder, getting his attention. "Weren't you the one that said that if you stop and cry then you would let fear win?" She asked.

"No, I said that if you cry about fear, then you let it win. I'm crying because I feel as though it might've been prevented. And because I'm human. Even though I might act like a stoic badass type, that ain't me. I'm sensitive, I think of other if they are going through pain that I don't know." He said, not looking at the shorter girl in front of him.

"Hey, don't worry. They knew what could happen. They volunteered for this mission to keep the others out of it. Look, we'll make sure that their deaths weren't in vain. Ok?" She said, looking at him with concerning eyes.

"Yeah, thanks. I needed someone to talk to." He said.

"Now come on, we need to go." IF said, waving Compa over. The trio headed forward.

* * *

They stopped in front of a wall. There was a small gap in the wall that they could get through.

"Okay, so we have to go through there to get to them. I'll take point." Chris said, drawing his gun and placing his back to the wall so he was facing the way they came from.

He moved closer, taking a step then sliding his other foot to the first, keeping his heel on the wall at all times. He stopped at the corner. He took a quick peek before going behind the wall again.

'Ok, you got this. Stay calm and act smart.' He thought as he mentally prepared himself. He went around the corner, aiming to his right, then to his left. After seeing that it was clear, he looked ahead of him. He saw something interesting, but it was too far away to see clearly.

"VATS." He whispered, pointing his weapon at the unknown. He felt his vision zoom in. He wasn't expecting what was there.

Five women, in skimpy outfits, bound by wires.

'Okay, what's next. A talking rodent that works for this group?' He asked himself. 'That must be them. I don't see anyone, but I still need to be careful.' He canceled VATS and looked through the pathway.

"Is it clear?" IF asked.

"Yeah, but be on guard. Also we need to talk." He said.

After they got through, IF walked to him. "What is it?" She asked.

"Why didn't you tell me that they were dressed like that?" He asked, annoyed that she kept quiet about it.

"What do you mean?" She asked back.

"What do you mean 'what do I mean'? I think the nosebleed I have explains it all." He said, pointing to his nose which was, in fact, bleeding.

"I kinda forgot, but nevertheless we need to go." She ran up ahead, with Chris shortly after.

As they made it closer to the five imprisoned females, Chris noticed that IF and Compa went to one in particular. She had a primarily black outfit with purple being the secondary. It was torn in certain places. She had long purple hair that split off into twin pigtails. She had some burns that looked like they were from electricity.

"Nep-Nep, we need to save her!" Compa said, before going to try to remove the wires.

"Compa, don't." Chris said, stopping her by placing a hand on her shoulder. "The wires look like they're electrically charged. You touch them, you could get fried!" He said, grabbing a lead pipe and throwing it onto one of the wires.

The millisecond it touched it, sparks and a loud boom came from the point of contact, sending the pipe flying away. He walked to it, looking at the damage. A good chunk of it was melted off. He walked back to them. He noticed that the wires all lead somewhere.

"All the wires lead to something. If we disable that, then we might be able to get the CPUs out of here without shocking them." He said.

"Okay, we better take note of where the others are." IF said.

They saw another one. She had long pinkish hair, and had white be the primary instead of black. The secondary was still purple. Her clothes were torn and she had electric burns as well.

"Ge-Ge." Compa whispered.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure they get out alive." Chris said.

They then saw the other three. To the far left was the tallest of all of them, and had green hair with a white and green outfit. The second in a black outfit with long white hair. Finally was the last, who was the shortest and had a primary white outfit, with some red here and there. She had short blue hair. Each had their clothes torn and had burns as well.

"I never got their names, who are they?" Chris asked.

"To the far left is Vert, then in the middle is Noire. Finally, to the right, is Blanc." IF said.

"Okay, I think that's everyone. Let's find that power source and get them out of here." Chris said, before seeing Neptune start to move. "What the-? Hey, I think Neptune's awake." He said, moving to her. The others followed.

"Nep!" The two females said as Chris backed up to give them room.

"Iffy? Compa?" She asked, raising her head. After that, her head fell back down.

"C'mon, Nep. Stay with us, we're getting you out of here." IF said, trying to get her to open her eyes again. As she did this, a loud groan of metal was heard.

"Holy shit." Chris whispered. "What the hell was tha-?" He said as he turned around, seeing what made that noise. "Holy shit! What the fuck is that?!" He shouted, drawing his .44 and aiming at it.

In front of the teen was a giant robot, with a huge battleaxe. The robot was neon blue, and was roughly 36 feet tall, with 6 feet being just for the head. The battleaxe was 42 feet long, with the blade of it being 12 feet and the rest for the haft. It swung the axe horizontally in an attempt to take them down.

"You two! Get down!" Chris managed to shout before going prone as well. They followed as they nearly missed the bladed weapon. The axe hit a pile and got stuck. "You two alright?!" Chris yelled.

"Yeah, we're fine. Thanks." IF said, getting up and helping Compa up as well.

"You little bitch!" He heard from the robot as he got up and looked at it. "If you would've kept quiet, I could've killed the bitches!"

"A few things. One, don't you DARE talk about my teammates like that! Two, I'm not letting them get off that easily. And three, who the hell are you? An oversized tin can?!" Chris asked, placing his hand on his Shocksword's grip.

"I am the most powerful of the CFWs! I am CFW Judge! And I sentence all of you bitches, to DEATH!" He shouted, swinging his axe again at the trio. They managed to dodge it in time as Chris looked to IF.

"We need a plan, any volunteers?" Chris asked, receiving two 'no's. "Of course." He muttered, thinking of something quickly. "Alright, here's one. Compa, we need you to get the CPUs out of here. Follow the wires to the power source. If there isn't an on and off switch, use this to blow it up. Then use the sharisite to get them and escort them back to the camp." Chris told Compa as he tossed her a grenade. "You know how to use one, right?" He asked, receiving a nod. He turned to IF. "IF, you're on me. We need to buy her time. After she gets them out of here, we need to escape and rendezvous back to the campsite." He then noticed that he was given way too much time to hatch a plan. "Umm, why isn't he attacking?"

"I want to give you bitches a chance. It makes the kill so much more, enjoyable. Like what I did to that one bitch named Finn." He said. Chris noticed IF's grip on her Qatar become tighter.

"I'm not going to show you mercy." IF whispered in a tone that sent shivers down Chris' spine. Nevertheless, he drew his flame blade and holstered his .44 magnum.

'If I need the Mysterious Stranger, I'll use this.' He thought as his mind drifted to that revive potion that was given to him. 'Now is a good time to use it.' He thought as he materialized the concoction and took a swig.

"That should offer me something of a second chance." He said, throwing it onto the ground. "Let's do this!" He said, charging at the robot as IF went to flank from the right. He heard Compa turn around and run to follow the wires.

He sliced at the leg of the giant multiple times, to get its attention. Judge looked at him and went to stomp on him, but he dodged it. IF went to stab his other leg, but he reached down and grabbed her. He brought her up so he could see her 'eye to eye' and he started squeezing her.

"Let her go!" Chris yelled as he looked for a way to bring him down. He looked at the leg he was cutting and saw a small gap. He sliced at it some more and equipped a grenade. IF screamed more in pain as he pulled the pin and dropped the explosive into the gap in the metal. "IF, get ready to freefall!" He yelled as he made some distance between him and the leg. The bomb went off, causing Judge to stumble and drop IF. She managed to land safely as they heard a similar explosion in the direction of the CPUs. "You alright?" Chris asked tossing her her Qatar. She nodded. "Good, we just need to hold out a bit longer." He said, taking a quick breather. Judge finally fully recovered from the blast.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Judge yelled as he brought the axe down in between them. This caused Chris to stumble away from IF. "Get over here!" Judge said as he grabbed Chris and brought him into the same position as IF when she was grabbed. He took his other hand and started to crush him.

"Shit! Let go of me!" Chris yelled, fighting the grip while also thinking of a way out. His hand hit the screen of his Pip-Boy, causing one of Finn's hand grenades to appear in his hand. He freed his right hand and brought it back. He pulled the pin and held the bomb in his hand for 3 and ½ seconds. "Eat this, you fuck!" He yelled, throwing it at his face. It flew for 1 and ½ seconds before exploding, causing Judge to look away. He turned back to look at Chris.

"I've had it with you, you little BITCH!" Judge yelled before bringing his arm back. "DIE!" He yelled, throwing Chris. He spun as he flew through the air. He suddenly stopped. The millisecond that the spinning stopped, Chris felt a sharp pain come from his stomach. He looked down, revealing a sharp coil had gone through his stomach.

"N-no. Dammit. Why?" He muttered. He looked at IF, who had said something but he couldn't hear her. "J-just ge-get them out of here! I might not make it!" He yelled.

His Pip-Boy beeped, meaning a notification. He activated it and saw that his health was dropping fast. He was at about 80%. He saw a bright flash to his left, which is where the CPUs are relative to him, and it quickly faded. He then looked down at the coil. There was a foot of it in front of him. He grabbed his Shishkabob and took a deep breath. He grabbed it to stabilize it and he used his flaming blade to start cutting it off. After thirty seconds of cutting, it fell off. It beeped again, and it showed he was at 30%. He quickly sheathed his Shishkabob. He grabbed the tip of the bit of the coil that was still in front of him and he pushed himself forward. He grunted as the pain was amplified. He then grabbed the part on his back and he pushed himself away. His wrist computer beeped again, signaling he was at 10%.

"Just a little more, come on!" He yelled to himself as he gave one final push, sending him off the coil as his health hit 0%.

* * *

It felt like it had been years since Chris had last opened his eyes, when he found himself in a dark void with no clear features.

"What the fuck? Where am I? Whats going on?" Chris asked himself, lying on the ground. "IF?! Compa?! You here?!" He shouted before remembering a drink he took. "The potion! I'm still alive! I just gotta get up, gotta get out of here!" He said before pushing himself up and checking to see if his .44 was there.

There was nothing there, not even his pistol belt was to be seen. He then noticed that his left forearm was lighter. He looked and saw that even his Pip-Boy had disappeared.

'This must be limbo, where people can't bring extra things.' He thought as he started walking in one direction, determined to see where he would end up at.

He noticed a small glimmer of light in the distance. He started running for it, until he approached it. It was a pedestal, holding an orb of some kind. The pedestal was hard to see, but one could see the outline through the blackness if they focused. The orb in question was of a combination of purple and blue, with the thing that stood out about it was the white 'on' sign that's on some computers. It seemed to always be in the center, not allowing the observer to see the sides of back.

Chris shrugged before grabbing the orb and examining it closely. He noticed the heat radiating from it had started to increase dramatically, as his hand felt like it was being cooked. He tried to let go of the orb or to throw it off but it was no use as it refused to move, like someone was burning it into his hand. He looked back at the orb and had noticed it had started to crack. It cracked even before it broke apart in his hand. He felt a wave of relief and a second force enter him. The secondary force was visible, and the colors were violet and white.

'What the? Screw it, I gotta get out of here.' He thought. A doorway of light appeared in front of him. 'Here goes nothing.' He thought as he ran through the doorway.

* * *

The world around him returned as Chris' vision was revived. It was blurred, and he had dirt on his face. He realized that he was on the ground and he crawled forward. In front of him was his Shocksword. He reached forward and grabbed it, before he pulled himself up to a crouching position. He checked himself to see if the wound was there.

It was practically gone.

He felt a surge of adrenaline enter his body as he looked over to his left. He saw CFW Judge aiming a downward strike at someone. Chris looked over to the target and saw IF and one of the CPUs, Nepgear if he remembered right. Both of them were on the ground with IF holding the goddess. He looked at the electric sword, then at the situation.

'Time to make a difference.' He thought as he rushed for IF. His speed seemed to be greatly enhanced.

When he reached her, he held his blade up to stop the strike. When it hit, there was a burst of electricity. It weighed down on him, but he held his ground. He felt his knee buckle as he fought back the large amount of force. He noticed that the force from the initial strike had dissipated. He got back to a standing position.

"What?!" He heard the CFW say. "It won't go all the way?! What's wrong with this-!" He said before getting cut off by an electric shock. "BITCH! What did that!?" He asked.

"Surprise bitch, I'm STILL alive!" Chris yelled before giving Judge a more powerful shock through the axe.

"H-huh?" He heard from behind him. He turned around and saw the brunette opening her eyes. "C-Chris?"

"We can chit-chat later, IF. Now here's the plan. I'm going to send an electric shock through the axe and I'll push it off of me. When I do that, grab her and run like a bat outta hell. Can you carry her?" He asked, as he sent more electricity through the metallic weapon.

"I-I should. But what about you?" She asked as she got a better grip on the unconscious CPU.

"I'll be fine. Besides," He said, as a smug appeared on his face, "I gotta make this bastard pay for what he did. You ready?" She nodded. "Okay, NOW!" He yelled, giving one last shock and pushing the two handed weapon off of him. He heard IF get up and start running.

"No you don't! Judge said, recovering from the shock faster than Chris expected. He aimed a strike for the two females. Chris ran to the leg of the robot and stabbed it with his electric sword. "Gah!"

"Come on! Fight me!" Chris yelled, getting the aggro off of IF.

"That's it! I've had it with you! Prepare to die, BITCH!" Judge yelled, before getting a better hold on the weapon.

"Hate to break it to ya, but you're not taking us down in a million years! Chris yelled, as he readied his electric blade.

Judge stared with his usual, swinging the axe down on Chris. He dodged it and saw an opportunity, as the CFW got the weapon stuck. He climbed onto the bladed part of the axe. He then ran up the haft. Judge freed it and saw the young hero. He grabbed him and did his second favorite technique. Chris took his Shocksword and slit the wrist of Judge's off hand. He took out a grenade and pulled the pin and threw it into the opening. He then kicked it closed and braced himself. It went off and sent Chris flying to the CFW's primary. He ignored what Judge had said as he came up with an idea.

'Let's try this one. I didn't use it during the Cyberdragon fight. Let me make up for it.' He thought as he held his blade with an iron grasp.

"Thunder Blitz!" He yelled as he let his mind take a backseat.

He struck the hand in a way so that he could be propelled in the air. He then began a quick succession of light strikes, each one giving off an electrical shock. He then did some heavier strikes before ending the move with an overhead strike. This caused a small electrical explosion. He regained control and fell down. He held his sword in front of him as he hit the ground. He stabbed the blade into the dirt and used it as an anchor as he slid to a stop. He turned around to see the destruction he caused.

"You BITCH!" Judge yelled. "What did you do to my hands?!" He asked, looking at his primary hand. All that was left was some wires and the skeleton frame. His other hand was worse, as it had only the frame.

"I gave you a reminder to not mess with us!" Chris yelled. "But since you're hard headed, I feel obliged to give you something worse!" He said as he sheathed his Shocksword and drew his Shishkabob.

"DIE!" Judge yelled as he tried to step on Chris with its right foot.

"You make things too easy." Chris said to himself as he dodged the foot. "Ember Blade!" He activated as he went for the right foot. The multiple strikes caused the outer shell to break away. The final strike and explosion caused the skeleton of the foot to appear. "How'd that feel?!" Chris yelled as he made his way to the last limb.

He knew that it was weak from the frag earlier, so one more should do it. He pulled the pin on his last frag and dropped it into the crack. After he did that, he made his way behind the mechanical monster.

'I can lock up his joints on one of the legs. I better knock him down first.' He thought, looking for something that could mess with them. He then spotted a large, metal pipe. 'Perfect.' He hit the back of the left knee, causing Judge to be kneeling. He took the, roughly, 10 foot pipe and lodged it between the joints. He then took out his Cryoblade and sheathed his Shishkabob.

"How does it feel, to be stuck kneeling? It looks like you're begging for forgiveness, but you aren't getting any from me." Chris said as he readied his stance once more.

"You, you will die! ASIC will hunt you down and slaughter you like dogs!" Judge yelled.

"Bring it on! I'm willing to fight, to my last breath!" Chris yelled. "Ice Raid!"

His first three strikes hit the chest, while his final, where he would throw the blade, was targeting the head. It hit right between the eyes. He then pulled out his .44 and took aim.

"I'll make you shatter like glass." He said before firing all six shots.

Four went to the frozen chest while the last two went for the head. Judge fell onto his back. However, due to the locked joint, his knee was still up. Chris grabbed his Cryoblade and sheathed it. He walked up onto the chest of the CFW while drawing his Shocksword. The chest of the robot was broken open, revealing wires and something glowing.

"W-What are you? What the hell are you?!" Judge asked, shaking.

"You don't know? I thought you would've guessed it by now." He said before walking towards the leg that's bent. He then quickly sprinted at it, before walking up it and turning around. He jumped with his Shocksword in a downward stab pose. "I AM IMMORTAL, MOTHERFUCKER!" He yelled as he landed in Judge's exposed chest. "THUNDER!"

The air grew cold before multiple small lightning strikes hit the area around Chris. They seemed to avoid him, but not the thing he stabbed. Judge was shaking from the electric shocks. The barrage ended in about three seconds. Chris released his sword from the metal and placed it on his shoulder.

"Listen here! I'm not sure if you can hear be, but it'll be your problem if you don't. We're coming back, and you got two options for when we do: you can stand down, or be destroyed. Your choice." Chris said before he started to walk back to the rendezvous.

He received a notification from his Pip-Boy. It said that he had 15 seconds left before the potion wore off. He slipped past the crack in the wall and leaned against it. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving Chris with only a shred of his energy left. He felt his vision get a bit blurred, but he paid it no mind as he made his way to the site.

'Now that I think about it, he said bitch so many times that I bet he can give Krueger a run for his money.' He thought before he waved at his teammates.

 **FINALLY I AM DONE WITH THIS CHAPTER! It's been one heck of a journey with this one, with me getting writer's block about ½ way through the chapter. Luckily a good friend of mine gave me some ideas, so I'm glad for it. But the reason I ended the chapter where I did was mainly because I didn't want it to 10K words long. Anyway that's enough of me rambling.**

 **You probably noticed that this chapter had a bit in common with- oh screw it it had a LOT of references to Mob of the Dead. And with TUC, is there any surprise that I might drop a few hints and references in both of the stories? Anyways I have to get started on Chapter 4 which, at this rate, should be coming out in… 2025! So, that's it. I'll talk to you all later and have a good day! Peace!**


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